The flier is from businessman Brian Watson of Greenwood Village, who is trying to unseat Kagan, of Cherry Hills Village, in a newly drawn House District 3 that is much more friendly to Republicans. The race is considered key to deciding which party controls the House next year.

“It’s his first mailer,” Kagan said. “It’s disappointing that he has chosen to campaign in such a juvenile matter when elections should be an opportunity for serious discussion about the best way forward for the state. House District 3 deserves better than that.”

Watson said today his message was about how people perceive the political process not as insult to Kagan. “We’d like to be an answer to that,” he said.

Colorado Republicans, determined to keep the majority in the state House and regain control of the state Senate, today released the name of six legislative candidates to “keep an eye on.”

The six are the first to reach “On the Radar” status as part of the GOP Trailblazer program.

“Similar to the National Republican Congressional Committee’s ‘Young Guns’ program, the Trailblazer program was announced earlier this year with the intent of helping candidates reach benchmarks and goals to run strong and efficient campaigns,” the Colorado GOP said in a news release.

Democrats currently enjoy a 20-15 majority in the Senate, while Republicans have a 33-32 edge in the House. All 65 House seats are up for election, while 20 of the Senate seats are on the ballot.

Back by popular demand, GOP Rep. Mark Waller today presented his Top 10 list.

It was in connection with a legislative tradition called “a motion to waive the reading of the journal,” which basically says lawmakers don’t have to wade through everything that happened the previous day of session. Waller, R-Colorado Springs, presented the top 10 reasons lawmakers should support his motion.

10 Democratic Reps. Claire Levy and Dickey Lee Hullinghorst will invite you to their new seminar titled, “Being nice to Republicans before eating them for lunch.”

Republican State Treasurer Walker Stapleton’s office sent an e-mail to a Democratic lawmaker, offering Stapleton’s help in the lawmaker’s upcoming election.

Stapleton said today the e-mail, sent by a 22-year-old assistant, was intended to go to Republicans, not Democratic Rep. Daniel Kagan of Cherry Hills Village.

What about the fact that it was sent by his assistant on a state account yesterday at 9:50 a.m. while she was at work? He said that, too, was a mistake.

“She’s been on the job for two weeks and has no idea what she’s doing, clearly,” Stapleton said. “She’s allowed to do political stuff but not on state time. I will certainly deal with this immediately.”

The House Judiciary Committee shot down a bill today that would have made it a felony to deceive someone about an election to prevent them from voting.

Witnesses from organizations including AARP, ACLU Colorado, Common Cause and the NAACP told lawmakers that SB 2012-2003 would be a powerful deterrent to election “trickery.”

Among the incidents they cited were two from 2008. In Pueblo County, some senior citizens registered as Democrats received election eve robocalls directing them to new (incorrect) polling places, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. Students at Colorado College also were incorrectly told they were ineligible to vote if they were dependents of parents who lived out of state, the Colorado Statesman reported.

Rep. Daniel Kagan, D-Cherry Hills Village, joined Republicans on the committee in the 4-6 vote, saying the new law is unnecessary because it’s already a misdemeanor to put out false election-related information.

Rep. Angela Williams, D-Denver and the bill’s House sponsor, said she will continue to work against “those who wish to impede others most basic right to vote.”

“People who intentionally mislead voters in order to suppress a vote should not be protected by the law; they should be punished,” Williams said.

Red light, no. A Senate committee shot down a bill to ban red light cameras despite arguments the cameras don’t improve public safety and are hated by citizens. The Denver Post.

Yes sir, that’s my baby bill. A House panel rejected a bill that would have banned some products that contain a chemical that has raised concerns about its health effects on babies. The Pueblo Chieftain.

Floor fight. Tempers flared over a Democratic credit-score bill during a vote in the Senate. The Spot.

She wore an itsy bitsy … Teens in Colorado won’t have to worry about losing the right to hit indoor tanning beds as often as they like without collecting state-mandated permission slips after a lawmaker backed off her plan to require parental notification. 7News.

This just in, Dems job bill passes: The State of Colorado would double its funding for Small Business Development Centers across the state under a Democrat bill that survived a House committee approved. Denver Business Journal

I’ve got a stash in my bathroom closet. Selling or manufacturing synthetic drugs known as “bath salts” would be illegal in Colorado under a bill that received committee approval. The Associated Press via CBS4.

Wanted, a bill that passes. A Colorado House committee killed a bill that would have banned employers from advertising that they would not accept job applications from unemployed people. Denver Business Journal.

Right to fight over life. A bill to allow prosecutions against criminals who harm unborn children advanced, despite the objections of Democrats who suggested it would open the door to prosecuting women who have abortions. The Gazette

House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino speaks at a news conference about jobs at the Capitol on Monday. He is backed by House members who will propose job-related bills in the upcoming session that begins on Wednesday, and some bill supporters.

House Democrats today are rolling out their third initiative in three days, this one focused on a bill they say will reform and streamline Medicaid.

It’s unusual for a caucus to hold so many back-to-back news conferences before the session to unveil bills.

Their new districts are among the 33 competitive districts proposed by Mario Carrera, the lone unaffiliated member on the Colorado Reapportionment Commission. (Here are his maps: Compromise Senate plan; Compromise House plan; to review districts closer up, scroll down each file.)

He drew his own House and Senate maps, after rejecting certain provisions of Republican and Democratic maps discussed earlier this week. Carrera’s maps, along with the earlier proposals, will be considered at a meeting Monday.

Acree currently represents Arapahoe and Elbert County, a GOP stronghold. In 2010, she didn’t even draw a Democrat challenger. Ryden won her 2010 race 56 percent to 44 percent, despite the national GOP tidal wave.

Now that the legislative session is out, the dirt is beginning to fly over Denver’s mayoral election.

Legislators supporting opposing candidates in the mayor’s race are waging an e-mail war over who is the most progressive in the race. Political pundits say that candidates are now focusing on picking up the progressive vote, and religion may be becoming a wedge issue.

Not long after, Sen. Joyce Foster, D-Denver, shot back with an e-mail saying Chris Romer’s campaign “reached a new low with another desperate and deceptive campaign attack.”

At issue were answers that Hancock has given in forums and on a Planned Parenthood survey.

A few months ago at a forum in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Hancock was asked whether he believed in evolution and answered that he believes in God. He has since reworded his response to say he believes both in God and evolution.

In a forum last week, Hancock said he would support the teaching creationism and intelligent design in public school. Immediately after the forum, his campaign issued a retraction that said he misunderstood the question and that he did not support teaching religious-themed subjects in public school.

Hancock also caught heat for how he self-identified himself on a Planned Parenthood questionnaire, saying that he was “pro-family planning,” instead of writing down “pro choice,” as Romer did.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.